Shawn O'Donnell (D) is taking on Jo Ann Davis (right-wing "R") for U.S. Congress in Virginia's 1st District (parts of Fauquier and Prince William counties; Caroline, Dumfries, Essex, Gloucester, Hampton, James City, Kilmarnock, King and Queen, King George, King William, Mathews, Middlesex, Newport News, Poquoson, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Tappahannock, Warrenton, West Point, Williamsburg, York). As O'Donnell stated in a recent guest post here at RK, he is running because:
During the past five years, average Americans have suffered the consequences of the incompetent, corrupt, immoral, radical right, regressive Republican administration of George W. Bush. Every step of the way he has been aided and abetted by Republican rubber stamp cohorts in Congress like Jo Ann Davis (R-VA-01). The results have been a devastating disaster for our country.
Now, we have an exclusive, in-depth interview with the man who's going to replace that "Republican rubber stamp" in just 11 months - Shawn O'Donnell. It's long (but highly informative and interesting!), so we've divided it into three parts - the first four questions today, the second set tomorrow, the last four questions on Friday. Enjoy...and PLEASE support Shawn O'Donnell, because with all our help, we can take back that Congressional seat and start taking back America from the right-wing extremists!
1) Why, in your own words, have you decided to run for Congress in Virginia's 1st CD?
This past August I turned 50 and, while that milestone was approaching, I considered a variety of ways to best put my talents and experiences to work for the good of the Democratic Party, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the United States. As a co-author of the book, ?Rebuilding The Democratic Party From The Grassroots,? I firmly believe that individuals with true core values of Democrats need to step up and run for office.
By making the decision to run for Congress in Virginia?s 1st Congressional District, I committed myself to leading by example with a hope and a dream to inspire a new movement throughout the Democratic Party, the Commonwealth, and nation to help return the House of Representatives to all the people.
Lowell's comment: Shawn O'Donnell is running for Congress for all the right reasons.
2) What are your main criticisms of Jo Ann Davis, the current (Republican) Representative from the 1st District? Do you believe, for example, that she is too far to the right on issues like abortion, the environment, and civil liberties? How would your representation of the 1st District differ from Jo Ann Davis' if you are elected?
Ms. Davis took office at the same time as George W. Bush and has done just what the Republican Party expected of her, acting as a rubber stamp for their radical, right wing agenda. Under one of the most corrupt administrations in history, she has been a firm ally of Tom DeLay, and the likes of Randall ?Duke? Cunningham. Ms. Davis has a record of using her votes to allow the wealthy elite and large corporations to loot our government while running up trillions of dollars in public debt. In the final analysis, she has been nothing more than a rubber stamp for the ultra right wing of the Republican Party.
I believe lawmakers should work for all their constituents. I believe we must stop the looters, war profiteers, and polluters who have taken control of our government. I believe we must turn away from the ?lip service? platitudes and ?no-bid? contracts and return our government to true measured performance and accountability. When I am elected, I will work to make government function for everyone.
Lowell's comment: In this answer, Shawn O'Donnell establishes himself as a strong, "clean government," Harry Truman Progressive.
3) In your opinion, was the Iraq war fundamentally flawed? Alternatively, was it basically the right thing to do but badly mismanaged? At this point, would you favor an immediate withdrawal, an "exit strategy," or what?
Since the Bush Administration decided to invade Iraq on the basis of misinformation, distortions, false claims, and lies - yes, the military action taken in Iraq was fundamentally flawed. Not only was it the wrong thing to do, it was also mismanaged at the top by our civilian leadership. Despite the civilian leadership?s lies and mismanagement, our military achieved the benchmark victory in ousting Saddam Hussein quickly and decisively. I still remember May 2nd of 2003 when the President landed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and got his photo-op of ?Mission Accomplished.?
Today we actually have three conflicts going on. The first is in Afghanistan, where our military has not been given enough personnel and tools to find Osama bin Laden and eliminate al-Qaeda. Another is the conflict in Iraq, where the Bush administration and Republican leaders have gotten us into a quagmire where they constantly change the goals and misuse our military. Finally there is the very real and ongoing worldwide war against terror that, by its very nature, requires multinational cooperation.
Regarding Iraq, I support Congressman Jack Murtha?s (D-PA-19) House Joint Resolution 73 and the over 55 cosponsors, calling for the redeployment of U.S. troops. I?d also suggest that Democrats need to continue to point out that when the Republicans decided to abandon our focus on Afghanistan and the war on terror by taking us into Iraq they chose the ?Wrong War, at the Wrong Time, for the Wrong Reasons.?
Lowell's comment: Shawn O'Donnell believes we should turn our focus to the people who attacked us on September 11, 2001, not waste our resources and good will in the sideshow known as "Iraq."
4) Do you believe that the President lied to the country in order to take us to war in Iraq? Specifically, do you believe that the supposed connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 was exaggerated to help convince Congress and the American people to support the war?
In my opinion, the President, this administration, and the Republican Party worked diligently to orchestrate and manipulate information presented to Congress, the American people, and the entire world in order to maneuver U.S. public opinion towards an unquestioning, ?dissent is unpatriotic? support of Congressional action that provided George W. Bush the power to invade Iraq.
The 9-11 Commission (The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States) found no link between the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Saddam Hussein?s Iraq. I believe we will continue to find more and more evidence that the Bush administration misused the tragic events of September 11th to take us into Iraq.
Lowell's comment: Shawn O'Donnell gets right to the heart of many Americans' anger at the Bush Administration -- that they used our grief and anger over the 9/11 attacks to take us into an Iraq War that had NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11.
PS Click here for Part 2 and here for Part 3.